My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a property in Kensington and have appointed a Kensington conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Yorkshire Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Kensington conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Kensington solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We are purchasing a new build apartment in Kensington and my conveyancer is informing me that she has to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the developer. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and my preference is not to delay deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Kensington? Is this really warranted?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering laws require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to check the identification documents of the person or body they are dealing with prior to agreeing to accepting their conveyancing retainer. The Terms and Conditions that you need to sign will no doubt reaffirm this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be viewed. Where you are unwilling to provide identification documents, your lawyer will not be able to take you on as a client.
The deeds to my property are lost. The conveyancers who conducted the conveyancing in Kensington 4 years ago have long since closed. What do I do?
Gone are the days when you need to have the physical official documentation to evidence that you are the registered proprietor of land or property, as the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.
How does conveyancing in Kensington differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Kensington come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because house builders in Kensington usually buy the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Kensington or who has acted in the same development.
There are only 72 years unexpired on my lease in Kensington. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?
On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Kensington.
Having spent years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Kensington. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Kensington conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Kensington flat is 93 Oakwood Court in June 2010. the LVT determined that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £492,083, This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 37.79 years.